Tuesday, October 2, 2018

Security In Iraq Sep 22-28, 2018

(Iraqi News)

Violence continues to ebb and flow in Iraq. In the middle of
September there was a temporary increase in security incidents and casualties.
That all went back down to a very low casualty count and incidents returning to
the norm during the fourth week of the month.

From September 22-28, 2018 there were a total of 47
incidents reported in Iraq in the media. That was down from 50 during the third
week and 57 during the second, but within the mean of roughly 40 per week since
April. Baghdad again led the country in violence with 20 incidents, the only
province in double figures, and the most recorded since the first week of
March.

Security Incidents In Iraq By
Province Sep 22-28, 2018

Babil
1

Kurdistan
1

Anbar
2

Basra
2

Salahaddin
2

Ninewa
4

Kirkuk
6

Diyala
9

Baghdad
20

Casualties In Iraq By
Province Sep 22-28, 2018

Babil
1 (1 K)

Basra
2 (1 K, 1 W)

Diyala
2 (2 W)

Salahaddin
3 (3 W)

Anbar
4 (4W)

Kurdistan
4 (4 K)

Kirkuk
5 (3 K, 2 W)

Ninewa
9 (9 K)

Baghdad
30 (9 K, 21 W)

Casualties were very low during the week with 27 deaths and
33 wounded. 1 Hashd al-Shaabi, 4 Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), 6 Iraqi
Security Forces (ISF), and 16 civilians were killed, and 2 ISF, 3 Hashd, and 28
civilians were injured. Again, Baghdad had the most with 9 killed and 21
wounded, and was the only governorate in double figures.

Human Rights Watch issued a report “Iraq:
Secret Detention, No Recourse” that documented 74 cases of men and boys
being detained by the Iraqi forces who have never been seen again. These took
place from April 2014 to October 2017 and involved 36 incidents by the Hashd
and 42 by the ISF. Throughout the war against the Islamic State, the ISF were
accused of various abuses from destroying homes to executing prisoners, and
these are just the latest. This comes on top of their routine abuse and torture
of suspects to gain confessions whether they be terrorist suspects or common
criminals. Despite 15 years of international training the Iraqis continue to
hold onto norms set during the years of dictatorship the country has gone
through. It is therefore no surprise when such news comes out.

On a separate front two prominent females were assassinated
during the week. First, Saud al-Ali a human rights activist and protest
organizer was killed
in Basra. Then the famous model Tara Fares was gunned down in
Baghdad. Prime Minister Haidar Abadi ordered an investigation into the
murders, giving the Interior Ministry and intelligence agencies 48 hours to
report claiming these were organized attacks. It’s unlikely anything will come
of this as many believe these murders were carried out by armed factions
connected to the Hashd and/or political parties.

After a spurt of mass casualty bombings in the middle of
September, Anbar has returned to a sideshow for the insurgency. From September
15-21 there were just four incidents, and two from September 22-18. That
included an attack upon an Islamic
State family in Hit probably by locals looking for revenge. IS largely
withdrew from the province at the start of the year. The suicide and car bombs
in August and September were a worrying phenomenon. A long view should be taken
to see whether IS wants to make a return to Anbar or was just being
opportunistic.

Another worrying trend is that terrorism might be returning
to Baghdad. Attacks in the capital have been increasing from single digits back
in April to the teens in May, and then 20 at the end of September. On September
25 there were six attacks alone including three IEDs and two sticky bombs, one
of which was dismantled. Most of the violence occurs on the periphery
especially in the north and south, but it is the first sign that IS is
attempting a major comeback in an urban center with the exception of Kirkuk
city where attacks took off after the federal forces retook the city form the
Kurds in October 2016.

In Basra, rockets landed
at the airport. On September
8, mortars were fired at the facility as well. That led the U.S. to withdraw its
personnel from the consulate, which resides at the airport, blaming Iranian
backed groups for the attacks. Earlier in the month the Iranian consulate in
Basra city was burned
during protests there. Tehran and its allies blamed the U.S.
and retaliated with the incidents at the airport. This comes on top of constant
accusations by those same parties that the Americans were aiding the Islamic
State, that Washington wanted a permanent military presence in Iraq, and that
they would take action as a result.

Central Iraq is a perfect example of how rebuilding the
insurgency means that attacks will go up and down. For weeks now the number of
attacks in Diyala, Kirkuk and Salahaddin have decreased despite this being the
center of the Islamic State’s plans. During the fourth week of September there
were just 2 incidents in Salahaddin, 6 in Kirkuk and 9 in Diyala. That included
several
attempts by IS to infiltrate from Iran into Diyala, and a gun battle with
the security forces and an attack upon a town
in Kirkuk. The low number of incidents doesn’t mean IS isn’t achieve its goals.
Iraq
Oil Report had a story of how people were fleeing several villages in Qara
Tappa in the north and the Khanaqin and Jalawla in the northeast of Diyala. The
militants are exerting such control over rural areas in the governorate that
the Iraqi forces don’t enter them at night and IS members even walk around out
in the open during the day in some places. Re-establishing itself in the rural
areas of the center of the country, and then infiltrating into the cities is
part of the group’s
strategy that it laid out as far back as the middle of 2016.

Ninewa is another sideshow in the insurgency. There are few
incidents there, but there was a suicide bombing during the month. From
September 22-28 there were just 4 incidents, but that included a mukhtar
being assassinated, which is a proven tactic of IS to eliminate local
authorities so that it can take over.

Finally, the Turkey carried out another attack upon the
PKK in northern Kurdistan. That left another 4 Kurds dead. Ankara fears the
group’s expanded role in Iraq and Syria, launched an incursion into northern
Iraq in March, and now carries out routine bombings and shelling of the PKK’s positions.

Islamic State Activity in
Central Iraq 2018

Diyala

Shootings

(Totals)

IEDs/

Sticky Bombs

(Totals)

Gun Battles

Attacks on Checkpoints

Attacks on Mukhtars/

Sheikhs

Kidnappings

Attacks on Towns

Mortars

Suicide Bombers

Car Bombs

Jan

20

24

2

7

-

1

-

6

1

1

Feb

14

13

4

3

-

-

-

-

1

-

Mar

29

21

14

5

1

2

1

5

-

-

Apr

13

18

2

2

-

-

-

2

-

-

May

11

11

1

3

1

1

3

4

1

-

Jun

32

17

5

12

-

1

5

4

-

-

Jul

20

19

2

3

-

2

3

1

-

-

Aug

17

18

2

2

1

1

3

3

-

-

Sep

20

12

5

1

-

2

5

3

-

-

Kirkuk

Shootings

(Totals)

IEDs/

Sticky Bombs

(Totals)

Gun Battles

Attacks on Checkpoints

Attacks on Mukhtars/

Sheikhs

Kidnappings

Attacks on Towns

Mortars/

Rockets

Suicide Bombers

Car Bombs

Jan

13

6

4

1

-

-

-

3

3

1

Feb

21

10

7

3

-

-

-

4

1

-

Mar

22

15

11

2

-

2

1

3

1

1

Apr

18

4

3

1

-

-

8

1

-

1

May

14

28

2

-

2

1

1

4

4

-

Jun

25

12

4

2

-

2

10

6

-

-

Jul

7

20

1

2

-

-

-

-

-

1

Aug

7

20

2

1

2

-

-

2

-

1

Sep

12

21

1

2

1

3

3

2

-

-

Salahaddin

Shootings

(Totals)

IEDs/

Sticky Bombs

(Totals)

Gun Battles

Attacks on Checkpoints

Attacks on Mukhtars/

Sheikhs

Kidnappings

Attacks on Towns

Mortars/

Rockets

Suicide Bombers

Car Bombs

Jan

11

9

8

-

-

-

-

2

-

1

Feb

7

5

1

1

-

2

-

-

-

-

Mar

23

8

9

2

-

3

-

-

1

-

Apr

6

8

2

2

-

-

-

-

1

-

May

14

10

10

1

1

-

-

1

1

-

Jun

15

15

4

1

-

7

-

-

-

1

Jul

9

6

-

4

-

-

2

1

1

-

Aug

9

15

1

3

-

1

1

1

1

-

Sep

5

9

1

1

-

-

1

1

3

1

(Gun Battles, Attacks on
Checkpoints, Attacks on Mukhtars, Attacks on Towns are all subsets of the total
number of shootings and IEDs/Sticky Bombs reported)

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About Me

Musings On Iraq was started in 2008 to explain the politics, economics, security, culture and history of Iraq via original articles and interviews. If you wish to contact me personally my email is: motown67@aol.com